New compact Intova 4.7

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by USF_Diver

What is nice about the new Intova is that area outside of the concentrated circle is almost as bright as the wide angle intova.

I agree, it's a almost a hybrid wide/narrow. While the majority of the light is concentrated at the hot spot, there is a wide corona of fairly usable light, as well.

[zoey]

I received 2 Intova's from B&W last week and had the chance to use one of them last Sunday.

Prior to that, I did a little side-by-side comparison between the "old" model and new. The first thing I noticed was that the former uses a casing that is much thicker walled. It also has multiple lanyard holes. The new only has one.

I removed the OEM lanyard and opted for one more suitable for tech. Unfortunately, the drilled hole for attachment is extremely small. I ended up using a 3mm bungee as that was the only thing I had on hand that was small enough to get through the hole. Replacing the OEM lanyard, after cutting it, is virtually, if not impossible.

I had some issues with accidentally turning the light on while diving. One bump of the tail switch is all it takes.

The batteries are held in place by a fairly flimsy mount. I question if this will be problematic at some point; especially if batteries are changed in colder climates.

The lens is made of plastic.

The light it produces, especially considering that it uses 3 AAA batteries, is quite impressive. I was using the light in about 12.5 meters of water, which was pitch black and crap viz due to a ton of silt. It provided exceptional lighting.

I question how the tail switch is sealed, and wonder how to maintain this. I'll have to tear one of them apart to investigate.

Grip and size is comparable to the previous model.

Summary:
I can definitely see some of the areas in which they have cut costs in producing this light. It remains to be seen if this will ultimately create problems down the road. None the less, for the cost, it does a great job. I appreciate the strobe effect as this might be used as an exit point marker, or as an emergency signal to either a buddy or a boat crew. I consider this to be an acceptable backup, and in some instances, could be used as a "light" primary. However, I have reservations in regards to use as a primary.

In comparison to my Princeton Tec 40 & Oxycheq 3 Watt Raider:

Hands down, it mops up the Princeton (purchased when I first started diving), which in retrospect was a poor purchase on my part. Basically, there's no comparison. The LED light on my key chain produces better light than the Princeton.

The Intova is significantly smaller than the Raider, and I believe it puts out a much better light beam. I like the tail switch on the Intova as opposed to the twist-turn-on of the Raider, but both have drawbacks. Grip on the Intova is much better than the Raider. Thus far, the finish is better on the Intova. After a single dive, my Raiders are showing significant paint chipping. both lights use a dual o-ring seal.

In comparison, I greatly prefer the lanyard attachment on the Raider (larger hole, and centered). The Raider is built more solid, and of a thicker material. It's almost a toss up, but due to the quality of light beam, grip, and smaller stature, I lean slightly towards the Intova.

[scubachris]

sorry to hijack this thread but i just got mine from b&h too..and it turns out that the on/off button doesnt work! correct me if im wrong: unscrew the tail end,take out the plastic tube,load 3 AAA batteries,put back the tube and screw back the tail end and push the on/off button and it should light up right?

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by scubachris

sorry to hijack this thread but i just got mine from b&h too..and it turns out that the on/off button doesnt work! correct me if im wrong: unscrew the tail end,take out the plastic tube,load 3 AAA batteries,put back the tube and screw back the tail end and push the on/off button and it should light up right?

Make sure you have the battery holder pointed the correct direction, but yeah. Once it's loaded up and all is screwed together, push the button, release, and it should be On. Push again, 20% power mode. Push again, Off.

Push and hold 5 seconds for emergency strobe mode.

[scubachris]

Originally Posted by CompuDude

Make sure you have the battery holder pointed the correct direction

sorry CompuDude just a silly question to confirm..the right position of the battery holder is the spring facing inwards right? and does the on/off button "click/lock" in place for every push? it doesnt right?

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by scubachris

sorry CompuDude just a silly question to confirm..the right position of the battery holder is the spring facing inwards right? and does the on/off button "click/lock" in place for every push? it doesnt right?

It's not spring on spring, so yes, the battery module's spring points to the front, and the spring in the back cap also points to the front.

Push it in until it stops, and the light turns on as you release it to allow it to come back out to the starting point. It doesn't stay "in". Repeat for lower power, repeat for off. Visually, there's no difference in the switch itself in any of the power modes.